Reflecting on my trip to New York back in February...

Hi all, I hope everyone is doing great!

This is my first actual blog post; I am writing it mostly for myself.

So I went on a week-long trip to New York back in February to visit the uni I will be attending. It was my first experience travelling outside of Europe, and it defied my expectations in many ways. For one, I discovered that long flights are not nearly as difficult as I expected them to be (thankfully). Also, the US is extremely different from Europe, but not in the way I expected. 

Firstly, let me start off by saying that the European stereotype that Americans are stupid and entitled is extremely misplaced, and to me seems like a coping mechanism for the fact that Europe is so set in its backward ways. In my experience, Americans are far friendlier than pretty much all European populations. I was actually extremely surprised by this: given the fact that we were situated in the metropolitan nexus of the "Western" world, a colossus of capitalism in a scale so large that it neared dystopian, its citizens' friendliness - striking random conversations with you eveywhere, going out of their way to help you, smiling and waving - was a huge surprise. I imagine this makes living in a city so inhumanely gargantuan far less lonely. 

On that note, things in America are so large I felt like I was trespassing in a land of giants. Why is a seven-seater SUV the norm there? Why do the food portions feel like they were measured out to feed a small family of elephants? Why is everything situated in miles and miles of spatial void from everything else? The streets of the City that Never Sleeps are so massive that, although a good chunk of its almost nine million residents are out every night, after dusk they perpetually look deserted. Having come to realise that no distance here is walkable, I am putting my all into getting a driver's license ASAP...

Something else which struck me as particularly strange about the US is how liminal everything felt outside of New York. Gas stations felt like portals to a new unvierse,  diners felt like fronts concealing inter-dimensional gaps with extremely artificial pies. I think this is somewhat accounted for by the novelty of the US: since it lacks the historical foundations that the majority of the rest of the world has, but is also a cultural mixing pot and global economic epicentre, the US feels a lot like a country with no direction. This can be considered at once an advantage and a crucial flaw. In a sense, the US is a bit like playing Minecraft on creative mode: although it is vast and kind of "default", the rhythm of life is very "efficient" (because of capitalism, and also I think because an active rhythm of life is needed to sustain unity for such a disjointed population), meaning that you are given more tools and opportunities to get yourself where you need to be in comparison to other countries. However, much like Minecraft played in creative mode, the abundance given to you can easily corrupt your priorities. In Minecraft, this means terrorising villagers while living a life of excess instead of humbly getting by, minding your business, and avoiding creepers. In the US, this means that gas is cheaper than food, no one gets healthcare, and every person is politically a high-tension wire. 

While the US does have its shortcomings, I can say that overall I enjoyed the culture shock and am happy to be moving there soon. I think it is a good placer to be young in (plus I have been indoctrinated into the Americana fantasy by Lana Del Rey). Overall, some of the highlights of my trip were:

- Coney island and the Atlantic ocean

- Diners and gas stations (funnily enough)

- Bagels

- Williamsburg and Greenwich

- The museums

- The shopping (especially the thrifts)

- The beautiful nature outside New York

- "Damn fine cup of coffee" 

Some pictures from the trip (I am a terrible photographer):